Basket-type carton



Jan. 23, 1962 s. T- BUTTERFILL 3,013,032

BASKET-TYPE CARTON Filed July 19, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG-l INVENTOR. SVDNEY T. BUTTERFILL ATTORNE United States PatentO 3,018,032 BASKET-TYPE CARTON Sydney Thomas Butterfill, 56 Haudfield Circle, Dorval, Quebec, Canada Filed June 19, 1959, Ser. No. 821,602 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-52) It is an object of this invention to provide a basket type container formed from a single sheet of corrugated board.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a container as aforesaid which may be printed, including the end panels, while in the fiat.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a container as aforesaid which, when set up has double ends.

The above and other objects will be made clear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the annexed drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the blank from which the improved container is formed; and

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view partly in section, of the fully erected container.

Traditionally, it has been the practice to merchandise fresh fruits and vegetables, e.g.: cherries, peaches, mushrooms, etc. in baskets which are open on top and have a central carrying handle. This construction permits full examination of the contents, and also provides full ventilation of the contents while permitting easy carrying of the package containing (approximately) two to four quarts of the fruit or vegetable in question.

It was, of course, quite natural that attempts were made to substitute corrugated and fibre board for the wood veneer from which these baskets originally were made. Heretofore, however, such attempts fell short of full utilization of the advantages of which such boards are capable. As previously noted, the present invention utilizes a single sheet of corrugated board. This permits any degree of printing to be accomplished while the container is in the fiat. This is a most desirable feature, since the side may be printed in a stock design leaving the ends open for imprinting, a situation having particular advantage when the containers are sold to a distributor who, in turn, will sell them in small quantities to a grower.

In particular, the construction of the present invention permits gluing of the manufactures joint which, in turn, permits both sides to be printed overall, as opposed to the designs of the prior art which utilizes a taped joint. Moreover, the handle is sturdy and is an integral part of the original, one-piece blank.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a blank generally designated as 10. Preferably this is formed of two faced corrugated board with corrugations running in the direction of the arrow The blank includes a bottom forming panel 12 to which are attached by means of score lines 14 and 16 end wall panels 18 and 20. Side wall panels 22 and 24, of which the latter is adjacent the bottom panel 12, lie on either side of what may best be termed a combination top-and-end-panel-forming section generally designated as 26. The section 26 has true top-forming portions 28 and 30 respectively defined by score lines 32 and 34 from supplementary end wall panels 36 and 38. At their ends the top-forming portions 28 and 30 are further defined by score lines 40' and 42 3,018,032 Patented Jan. 23, 1962 from side wall panel 22 and by score lines 44 and 46 from side wall panel 24. The shaded areas 48-58 represent portions which are die-cut and removed from the blank. This die-cutting and removal leaves a central top portion 60 having on each side a handle portion 62 defined from the central portion 60 by score lines 64 and from the supplementary end wall panels 36 and 33 respectively by die-cuts 66 and 68.

If desired, handle portions 62 may be omitted leaving the top portion 60 to serve as a handle. In such case, of course, the panels 36 and 38 would be cut straight across.

The side wall panels 22 and 24 each have a pair of lugs 70, each of which lugs is defined by die-cuts 72 and score lines 74. At the bottom edge of the side wall panel 22 is a closure flap 76 defined from the side wall panel 22 by a score line 78. The flap 76 has, at each end, flaps 80 defined from the flap 76 by score lines 82. The flaps 80 contribute substantially to the overall sturdiness of the basket and come at no extra cost, since lengthwise they are coextensive with the end wall flaps or panels 18 and 20.

The blank is printed by the manufacturer while it is in the condition shown in FIGURE 1. The next step performed by the manufacturer is to fold the blank on a score line 84 which defines the bottom panel 12 from the side wall panel 24. The blank is then folded along the score lines 49 and 42. This brings the free edge 86 of the panel 12 adjacent the score line 78 which defines the closure flap 76. The flap 76 is then glued to the bottom panel 12 and the flaps 80, at the: same time are glued to the end wall panels 18 and 20. The container is now ready for shipment to the user or distributor.

To make the container ready for use, the blank, folded and glued as described in the preceding paragraph, is first erected to rectangular cross-section by bending on lines 78 and 84 adjacent the bottom panel 12 and along lines 40-42 and 4446 adjacent the combination top-andend-panel-forming section 26. The end panels 18 and 20 are then folded on lines 14 and 16 until they pass diecuts 72 in side panels 22 and 24. The lugs in the side panels are then bent normal to their respective side panels and the end panels 18 and 20 are then relieved backwardly to bear upon the lugs 70. Supplementary end wall panels 36 and 3 8 are then folded down along score lines 34 and 32 to overlie the end panels 18 and 20. The walls of the final container are thus of double thickness in the area of the greatest load. The necessary ventilation is provided by the openings left by lugs 70. The containers as thus assembled may be stacked, since at this point the handle portions 62 remain flat in the plane of the portions 28, 30 and 60. When a container is sold, the buyer raises the handles 62 by folding along lines 64.

Various modifications in detail of construction will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departure from the scope of this invention which is to be limited only as set forth in the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:

A blank for the formation of a basket-type carton, said blank comprising: a single sheet of double faced corrugated board, said sheet being scored parallel to the corrugations to define in part end wall forming panels and being die-cut in part parallel and in part transverse of said corrugations to define a central handle portion delimited in part by said end wall forming panels and in part by side wall forming panels formed by combined scoring and die-cutting transverse said corrugations and a bottom forming panel adjacent one of said side wall panels defined by a score line transverse said corrugations, said side wall forming panels being cut and scored adjacent their outer margins to provide anchorage for said end wall forming panels when said blank is assembled and erected to rectilinear form, the material of said blank being removed from both said side wall panels adjacent both said end wall panels and adjacent each end of said handle portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hullings Aug. 22, Broderick Apr. 14, Williamson Jan. 2, Saidel June 1, Vines Sept. 6, Crane May 8, Vines Oct. 6, 

